divorce

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joncharles
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 6:38 am

divorce

Post by joncharles » Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:17 am

Hello,

It appears that my marriage to a permanent resident in Finland of Russian origin is about to end. I would like to ask for some advice about the following on the distribution of assets. I have found the following statement on a law website;

The property that a spouse has when entering into the marriage remains theirs. The spouse also owns what they acquire during the marriage.
However, each spouse has a marital right to the property of the other spouse. According to this right, each spouse acquires half of the net property of the spouses at the distribution of matrimonial property.


This statement appears quite contradictory. Could anyone clarify? Also, does this division also include (I assume so, debts). Additionally, my experience is the following;

During our less than 1 year marriage and the year before that whilst we were together I spent a reasonably large sum on my wife. These includes gifts, payment of her rent, holidays, bills and general living expenses. I now have spent all of my wages, the inheritance from my grandparents and have acquired approximately $30,000 of credit card debt (Australian dollars). Are these grounds for diverging from the standard procedure of splitting the assets on a 50-50 basis? The extent of her lifestyle while I worked in Australia where I live is that during the two years I have known her she has holidayed in; Paris, Berlin, Paris, Nice, San Francisco, Zurich, Amsterdam, Paris, Bali, Thailand, Australia, Turkey, Italy and India (of which I know), as well as approximately a dozen trips back to Russia. These are quite something for a person claiming benefits from KELA!! I largely paid for most of these, although she was paid 20,000 euro by her ex to visit him in SF.

I guess what I am asking is whether considerations such as these are taken into account in divorce proceedings for the determination of the splitting of assets.

My current situation is that my net debt exceeds my net assets by approximately $100,000 whilst she owns an apartment (without debt) in Saint Petersberg and may or may not have assets in other locations. I do know she has a bank account in Russia and that she had (I don't know if it still exists) a bank account in Estonia.

It hardly seems reasonable or just, that if we divorce I will be left with huge debt and she will walk away with whatever she owns and no debt, especially considering how I've worked so hard and the lifestyle she has lived since we met.

Additionally, not that this is a matter of importance for the law, but she was not a 'Russian Bride' in the sense that we met through some website, nor am I some dirty old man that paid for the privilege of having a young attractive wife. We met by chance in Paris where we were both holidaying and are both 45 years of age.



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FinnGuyHelsinki
Posts: 1439
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:52 pm

Re: divorce

Post by FinnGuyHelsinki » Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:59 am

No prenup -> by default it's 50/50. There's a process for having it otherwise if one of the spouses would have "unfair gain", get yourself a divorce lawyer.

joncharles
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 6:38 am

Re: divorce

Post by joncharles » Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:42 am

Hi,

thanks for the advice on getting a lawyer.

I feel that Finland is the right place to get the divorce as she is living there and more likely to adhere to any court order regarding assets. I imagine any such order given here in Australia would likely be ignored. Additionally, I think I would more likely receive a better outcome in Finland than I would here in Australia... just a feeling.

Does anyone know if the divorce application is available in English, I have only been able to find it in Finnish or Swedish.

Additionally, I believe there is a separate form that must be lodged with the district court regarding the settlement of assets. One fills in this to have a court appointed arbiter (I forget the technical name for this person) deal with this. Does anybody know where this form is located on the internet?

Thanks

joncharles
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 6:38 am

Re: divorce

Post by joncharles » Wed Oct 24, 2018 6:21 am

Thanks Cory,

I am talking about the situation where the two parties cannot agree to a settlement and hence one of the parties asks the court to appoint someone who will make such decisions.

When / how is this process initiated?

Cheers,

Jonathan

FinnGuyHelsinki
Posts: 1439
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:52 pm

Re: divorce

Post by FinnGuyHelsinki » Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:08 am

joncharles wrote:
Wed Oct 24, 2018 6:21 am
I am talking about the situation where the two parties cannot agree to a settlement and hence one of the parties asks the court to appoint someone who will make such decisions.

When / how is this process initiated?
By a written request to the käräjäoikeus of the district in which either of the parties officially resides. Exact details of the request, how to submit such a request in practice,... I have no idea. Again, get a lawyer, he/she will have answers to everything that you need to know and will keep you from doing something detrimental to your side of the issue.

Rick1

Re: divorce

Post by Rick1 » Thu Nov 22, 2018 8:22 pm

If she starts to be nasty, remind Kela of all her foreign assets, as if we are not paying enough taxes for these freeloaders.


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